Imprint machine



Aug. 16, 1932.

G. s. WlTHAM. VJR

IMPRINT MACHINE Filed March 29, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l //Vl/EN7"OR Arron/var u 16, es. WITHAM, JR 1,872,207

IMPRINT MACHINE Filed March 29, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5T ATTORNEY 1 1932- G. s. WITHAM, JR 1,872,207

IMPRINT MACHINE Filed March 29, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY Aug. 16, 1932. w JR 1,872,207

' IMPRINT MACHINE Filed March 29, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Z5 :F J: 5 /5 ii L 50 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 16, 1932 GEORGE STANFORD WITHAM, JR, Oil: HUDSON FALLS, NEW YORK IMPRINT MACHINE Application filed larch 29, 1928. Serial 1T0. 265,693.

My invention relates to paper making machinery and particularly to an improved means whereby so caller water-marks may be imprinted upon the paper.

i In some classes of paper where the web is impressed while in a very moist condition, the mark produced is thereafter ironed out in the drying process and becomes very indistinct. On the other hand, where the web is 3 impressed when practically dry, a very distinct mark is obtained but the pressure required is enormous.

By interposing the imprint device at some point intermediate the first and last drying cylinder, say at a point where the paper is from to 60% dry, the pressure required is very much less than that required when the paper is nearly dry, and the results obtained are substantially as good. By imprinting J the paper at such a stage in the drying proc- 055, the fibers, while comparatively easily compressed or displaced by moderate pressure, nevertheless tend to retain their displaced position during the remainder of the drying process, and the resulting mark is qulte distinct.

Inasmuch as such a device is to be attached to existing machines it is quite important that it can be readily applied without any substan- I tial change in the machine itself.

My invention, imprint device for water marking paper which can be readily attached toany paper machine and which is ada ted to cooperate with one of the drying c inders or with a special platen which may e substituted for a drying cylinder.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an imprint device ada ted for at- 19 tachment adjacent one of the rying cylinders of a paper making machine and at a point where the paper is from 40% to 60% dry. Another object is to provide a device which is adapted to coact with one of the drying cylinders or with platen cylinder adapted to be substituted for the dryin cylinder. Another object is to provide a evice in which the pressure of the marking roll upon the platen cylinder may be easily adjusted and controlled from one side therefore, contemplates an,

a special type of cold of the machine, and in which the pressure at one end of the marking roll may be varied independently of the pressure at the other end so that the imprinting will be of uniform character across the Web. Another object is to provide an imprint device in which the speed of the marking roll and the platen cylinder against which the marking roll acts may be easily varied to conform to the speed of the paper. Another object is to provide a marking roll of such character that types or plates may be attached thereto so as to provide a continuous line of contact betweenthe marking roll and platen. A further object is to provide a device of this character in 55 which the pressure of the marking roll upon the platen may be varied in minute degrees whereby the precise pressure for obtaining the desired results may be attained.

With these objects in view my invention includes the novel elements and the combi nations and arrangements of elements described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my imprint device showing how it is attached between the drying cylinders of the paper making machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a special marking type or plate;

Fig. 3 is a section of Fig. 2 in the plane 3-3;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of my device at a slightly smaller scale than that of the front elevation and illustrates the speed changing B5 mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of Fig. 4 in the plane 55;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section in the plane 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7' is a fragmentary transverse section of the marking cylinder;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary front view of the central portion of the adjusting wheel;

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the knob or button which locks the inner adjusting shaft to the hand wheel;

Fig. 10 is a view of the hand wheel end of the inner adjusting shaft;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the nut by means of which the marking plates are so cured to the marking cylinders;

Fig. 12 is a cross section of the rubber covered cylinder against which the marking cylinder runs; and

Fig. 13 is a cross section of an ordinary drying cylinder.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1, 4 and 5, my imprint device comprises marking roll, 1, to which the marking plates or. types, 2, are secured as hereinafter described, and which is rotatively mounted on the frame of the paper machine so that its axis lies substantially in the same horizontal plane as the axes of the upper drying cylinders. The marking roll is supported at each end in a suitable bearing, and each bearing is contained in a cross-head, 3. The crossheads, 3, are, in turn, supported in the guides, 4 and 5, which are bolted, as shown at 6, to the frame of the machine. The cross-head rod, 8, is not secured to the cross-head, but the end, 7 thereofis slidably fitted in a recess rovided in the lower half, 9, of the crosshead so that there may be some relative movement between these two elements. A portion of the rod, 8, is threaded and engages a nut rotatively mounted within the housing, 13, so that the pressure of the helical spring, 11, against the cross-head may be varied as will hereinafter appear.

By reference to Fig. 6, which is an enlarged section of Fig. 1 in the plane 66, it will be apparent that the threaded cross-head rod, 8, passes through round nut, 12, WhlCh 1s rotatlvely mounted in the housing, 13. The outer periphery of this nut is provided with teeth, 14, coactlng with the worm, 15, mounted upon the hollow shaft, 16. This hollow shaft is supported in a suitable bearing, 17, and carries the adjusting wheel, 18, which is keyed thereto as shown at 19. Inside of the hollow shaft, 16, and extending transversely across the paper machine is the in- A ner shaft, 20. The end of the shaft, 20, at

the rear of the machine is supported in suitable bearings in the cross-head guide on that side, and a worm, 21, similar to worm, 15, is secured thereto and coacts with a nut, 22, similar to the nut 12. The nut, 22, engages the threaded cross-head rod, 8, on the rear of the machine and serves to adjust the com pression of the marking roll against the platen roll, 23.

Referring particularly to Figs. 6, 8, 9 and 10, it will be observed that the hand wheel and of the shaft. 20, is provided with a transverse slot, 24. Likewise, the outside face of the hand wheel hub is provided with oppositely disposed-slots, 25 and 26. The end of the shaft, 20, is also, centrally tapped and threaded to receive the cap screw, 27.

Located in the center of the hand wheel, 18, is a knob or button, 28, which is shown in section in Fig. 6, and a bottom view of which is shown in Fig. 9. This button serves to lock the inner shaft to the hand wheel as will be hereinafter described. The knob or button, 28, is provided with a centrally disposed recess, 29, within which the helical spring, 30, is compressed between the bottom of the recess and the head, 31, of the cap screw, 27. The inside face of the knob or button, 28, which rests against the hub of the hand wheel, 18, is provided with the oppositely disposed projections, 32, which are adapted to interfit with the recesses, 24, in shaft, 20, and the recesses, 25 and 26, in the hub of the hand wheel, 18.

When the knob or button is in the position shown in Fig. 6, the projections, 32, interfit with the recesses, 24, 25 and 26, and the hand wheel, 18, the outer hollow shaft, 16, and the inner shaft, 20, are thus keyed or locked together. In this position any movement of the hand wheel, 18, will turn both the worm, 15, and worm, 21, so that the cross-head rods, 8, both at the front and the rear of the machine will be moved thereby. By pulling outwardly on the knob or button, 28, against the compression of the spring, 30, until the projections, 32, are disengaged from the slots, 24, 25 and 26, and then turning the button or knob, 28, slightly in either direction so that the projections, 32, will rest against the face of the hand wheel hub, the inner shaft will be disengaged from the hand wheel and the outer shaft so that when the hand wheel is turned only the cross-head rod at the front of the machine will be moved. In other words, the pressure of the marking roll upon the platen cylinder, 23, may be adjusted by moving the cross-head rods together or by moving the front one separately. This variation in pressure is attained, of course, by increasing the compression on springs, 11, and because of the very great reduction in movement between the hand wheel, 18, and the rod, 8,

through the worms, 15 and 21, and nuts, 12 and 22, extremely minute variations in pressure may be effected. To prevent damage either to the platen or the type, due to excessive pressure, adjustable stops, 90, are provided for each cross-head whereb the movement of the marking roll toward the platen is positively limited.

In the preferred embodiment of my machine, the platen roll, 23, is not a heated drying'cylinder but is a cold together with the marking roll, 1, is driven by an entirely different means than the drying cylinder which it replaces. The platen, 23, is preferably a roll of the same size as a drymg cylinder and is covered with a comparatively thin layer of rubber, 71, say or -7 thick. Thus rubber covering may, if desired, be electroplated and vulcanized on the platen by the well known anode process or applied in any other way.

To prevent damage to the paper webin pass- 1 roll which,

ing between the platen and marking roll, the surface speeds of these elements must be car-efully synchronized with each other and with the speed at which the paper web is passing through the machine. An exact synchronization of the marking roll and platen is not desirable because the imprint would then always occur in exactly the same spot on the platen. To obviate this, the marking roll and platen are geared so that their surface speeds are very slightly different, and I find that a difference from an exact gear ratio of one tooth more or less on the platen gear gives satisfactory results. This synchronization of the elements with each other is a mere matter of gear ratio design, but inasmuch as the paper-speed varies, some means of varying the rate of speed of both these elements to conform thereto must be provided.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, it will be observed that I have here illustrated a typical driving mechanism both for the marking cylinder and for the platen cylinder, 23. I have also showna means whereby the speed of both elements may be simultaneously synchronized to the speed of the paper.

Referring to these figures, the device is driven by means of a gear, 33, on the rear end of the dryer roll which is immediately below the imprint device. This gear revolves in the direction of the arrow, 34, and drives the pinion, 35, in the direction of the arrow, 36. The pinion, 35, may be supported in any suitable bearing, such, for example as one carried by the frame, 37, of the machine. On the same shaft with the pinion, 35, and driven thereby, is the sprocket wheel, 38, which drives the shaft, 39, by means of the silent chain, 40. Mounted upon the shaft,

- 39, is the conical pulley, 41, forming the lower element of the speed regulating device. The conical pulley, 41, drives the upper conical pulley, 42, by means of the belt, 43, and this belt may be shifted across the faces of the pulle s, 41 and 42, by means of the shifting mec anism, 44. This shifting mechanism embraces the sides of the belt, 43, and one end is mounted to slide upon the shaft, 45 while the other end is internally threaded and forms a nut adapted to be moved by the rotation of the shaft, 46 (See Fig. 4) which is threaded to enga e the elements, 44, on that side of the speed changing device. Secured to the shaft, 46, is the sprocket wheel, 47, which is connected to the transverse shaft, 48, through sprocket, 49, and chain, 50. The shaft, 48, extendsto the front of the machine and is there fitted with a hand wheel, 51, by means of which the relative speeds of pulleys, 41 and 42, may be varied from the front of the machine.

The pulley, 42, drives the shaft, 52, which carries the sprocket, 53; and this sprocket, in

turn, drives a silent chain, 60, connected to the sprocket, 70, on the shaft of the platen cylinder, various gears and sprockets mentioned are so proportioned that the surface speed of the platen, 23, is substantially the same as the surface speed of the drying roll to which gear, 33, is attached, when shafts, 39 and 52, are moving at the same speed.

The marking roll, 1, is driven in the opposite direction from the platen roll, 23, by

means of the gears, 77 and 78, which mesh together and are secured to the platen roll shaft and marking roll shaft, respectively. The ratio of these gears is such that the peripheral speed of the type or marking plates attached to the marking roll is very slightly different-preferably slightly greater-than the peripheral speed of the platen roll. This prevents the type or marking plate from constantly striking in precisely the same spot on the platen.

While I prefer to use a rubber covered, non-heated, platen cylinder in conjunction with metallic electrotype or stereotype on the marking roll, it is possible to use a hard, metal surfaced platen in connection with rubber or rubber covered type on the marking roll. The yielding of the rubber in either case compensating for inequalities in the platen.

In Figs. 2 and 3, I have illustrated a type or marking plate comprising a metal base, 72, having rubber characters, 73, thereon. Plates of this character or ordinary electrotypes or stereotypes may be attached to the marking roll, 1. To facilitate the attaching I have provided a plurality of longitudinally extending wedge shaped or dovetail grooves, 74, in the surface of the marking cylinder, 1, (See Fig. 7). Complementary wedge shaped nuts, 75, such as shown in Fig. 11, are slipped into these grooves and screws or bolts are passed through the type plates and threaded into the nuts. The position of the plates on the cylinder may obviously be varied by sliding the nuts in the grooves.

In order to provide smoothness of operation, it is desirable that the marking cylinder and theplaten have a substantially continuous line of contact for the full length of the cylinder, or at least that there be no very long breaks in this contact line. For this reason the marking plates are secured to the cylinder as shown in Fig. 5. Here the plates are shown in staggered relation so that similar corners thereof lie on a helix such as 76. By so arranging the plates, it will be apparent that considering any one type as being in contact with the platen, those on either side of it will roll into contact, before the first type rolls out of contact, thus avoiding any jumping of the roll.

It will be apparent from an examination of Fig. 1 that the upper felt, 79, does not pass around the platen roll through the nip between the platen and marking rolls. Some means however should be provided for carry- 23. It will be understood that the platen and the idler ing the paper web, 80, upwardly from the dryer, 81, and around the platen. For this purpose I have provided the carrying tapes, 82 and 83. The tape, 82, runs around the pulley, 84; and the tape, 83, runs around a pulley on the shaft of the mar g roll, around the idler, 85, and a pulley, 86, on the shaft of the felt roll, 87. The pulley, 86, obviously need not be on the felt roll shaft but should be located quite near the felt roll to avoid a large gap between the tape and felt. To prevent injury to the operator in leading the paper between the tapes, 82 and 83, the idler pulley, 85, is pivotally mounted at, 88, and held in the position shown, tangential to the plane of the paper web, by spring, 89. Should the hand of the operator he accidentally drawn between pulleys, 84 and 85, the spring 89, will permit the pulley, 85, to swing away from pulley, 84, and thus prevent serious injury to the 0 orator.

One o the great advantages of my device resides in the use of a platen having a surface of resilient material. With such a platen it is possible to use hard surfaced types or plates in which the finer details of the design are not distorted under the pressure neces-.

sary for imprinting. The rubbercovered platen provides some of the necessary cushioning and the springs, 11, provide the balance, so that it is unnecessary to wrap the marking roll with fabric or use type or marking plates of rubber. However, it will be obvious that many features of my device may be used to advantage in connection with a hard surfaced platen and either metal or rubber type, and in such respects I am therefore not limited to the use of a rubber platen.

In describing my invention, it is to be understood that the words which I have used are words of description rather than words of limitation and that changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention. What I claim isa 1. In a paper making machine having a plurality of heated dryers associated therewith, a cold dryer intermediate the first and last heated dryers and forming a platen for an imprint device.

2. In a paper making machine including upper and lower heated dryers, a platenfor an imprint device comprising a cold dryer having its axis lyin substantially in the plane of the axes of t e upper dryers.

A paper making machine having a cold drying cylinder therein surfaced with a yielding, resilient material to form the platen element of an imprint device.

4. In a paper making machine including a plurality of heated dryers, the combination with a cold dryer forming the platen of an imprint device, of means for varying the peripheral speed of said platen independently of the other dryers. 4

r 5. In a paper making machine, the combination with a cold drying cylinder surfaced with a yielding, resilient material and forming the platen of a cylinder adapted to in rolling contact with ing over said platen.

6. In an imprint device for watermarking paper, the combination with a cylindrical, rubber-surfaced platen, of a roll adapted to carry marking type in rolling contact with a web of paper intermediate the roll and platen and means for driving said roll and and platen at slightly different peripheral speeds; whereby the position of the type impressions on said platen vary slightly with each revolution.

7. In an imprint device for watermarking paper, the combination with a cylindrical, rubber-surfaced platen, of a roll adapted to carry marking type in rolling contact with a web of paper carried by said platen and means for driving said roll and platen; the peripheral speed ratio of the platen and type, respectively, being fixed, but said speeds differing slightly from each other. a

In a paper making machine including a plurality of heated dryers, the combination with a cold dryer located at a point in said machine where the paper web is normally from about 40% to 60% dry, of a marking roll having characters thereon in rolling contact with the paper web on said dryer, means for driving said cold dryer and marking roll including means for varying the peripheral speeds thereof independently of the other dryers, means for yieldingly forcing the marking roll into contact with the paper web on the platen, and means operable from one side of the machine for regulating the pressure across the zone of contact between the paper web and roll.

9. Ina paper making machine including a plurality of heated dryers, the combination with a cold dryer having a surface of yielding, resilient material, of a marking roll having unyielding characters thereon in rolling contact with the paper web on said dryer, means for driving ing roll at slightly different peripheral speeds; and means for varying said speeds independently of the peripheral speeds of the other dryers.

10. In a paper making machine, the combination with a dryer forming the platen of a watermarking device, of a marking roll having characters thereon in rolling contact with the web of paper passingover said dryer, and means for leading the paper into the nip of said device comprising tapes moving in contact with each other and between'which the paper is carried.

11. In a paper making machine, the combisaid cold dryer and markan imprint device, of

lac

nation with a dryer forming the platen of an imprint device, of a marking roll adapted to carry type in rolling contact with a web of paper passing over said dryer, a plurality of springs for yieldingly pressing said type against the paper web, means operable from one side of the machine for independently varying the compression of each of said springs, and means for driving the marking roll at variable speeds to conform to the speed of the paper.

12. In a device for watermarking paper, the combination'with a platen, of a marking roll supported in bearings at each end. a compression spring coacting with each bearing and adapted to hold the marking roll in yielding contact 'witlrtheplaten, and means operable from one side of the machine for independently varying the compression on said springs whereby and platen may be Varied.

13. In a device for Watermarking paper, the combination with a platen, of a marking roll, a spring at each end of said roll for holding it in yielding contact, under substantial pressure, with a web of paper passing between the platen and roll, and means operable from one side of the machine for independently varying the contact pressure at each end of the roll.

GEORGE STANFORD WITHAM, JR.

the pressure between the roll 

